Search for Wall brown at SWT Carlton Marshes Peter Maddison

Grid Ref:- TL617614 Start:- 11.00 am, Finish:- 1.00 pm Contact: Sharon Hearle Email: shearle@butterfly-conservation.org Tel 07920131526 It is very helpful to know if you are planning to attend before. (Sharon is Butterfly Conservation Senior Regional Officer, East of England)

Saturday 27 July - Red Lodge Heath Butterfly Walk With over 20 species recorded on this SSSI, it is a good place to see butterflies even on a damp day.

Suitable for families and novices, the range of species and their numbers will make it a good walk for those of experience. It is somewhere different. Where - Off the A11 north-east of Newmarket. Place to meet - Millennium Centre car park, Magnolia Close Post Code - IP28 8TT Grid Ref - TL699703 Start time - 13.00 hrs. (1.00 pm); 3 hours max. Contact - Twm Wade, (01638 577446, 07743 305363)

Saturday 27th July - Butterfly Pipers Walking the vale through a variety of habitats for late summer butterflies.

Location: Pipers Vale AONB Meet: Pipers Vale car park, Gainsborough Lane, Ipswich IP3 0LG Grid ref: TM178419 Start: 10.00 am Finish: 12.30 pm Contact: Julian, 07910 170609 Email: julian.dowding@ntlworld.com

Sunday 28th July GARDEN OPEN DAY* Wildlife Garden Open Day.

An invitation from BC member Mrs Trudie Willis, to visit her 10 acre garden, including a Buddleia and Honeysuckle collection. Meet: Park at Prior’s Oak, Leiston Road, Aldeburgh (B1122 Leiston to Aldeburgh Road) Map Ref: TM452591 Post Code: IP15 5QE Time: 10.30 am start Contact: Peter Maddison Email: prmaddison@yahoo.co.uk 01473 736607

Saturday 3rd August - Butterflies of East Suffolk Recording butterflies in Kenton Hills, Sizewell Belts and Broom Covert.

‘Dogs not allowed on most of the permissive paths of this walk’ Meet: Kenton Hills car park Grid Ref: TM453638 Post code: IP16 4UP Time: 10.00am - 1.00pm Contact: Peter Maddison Email: prmaddison@yahoo.co.uk 01473 736607

Saturday 10th August - The Wall and other butterflies at SWT Carlton Marshes The Wall has had a massive decline in population in the UK and has nearly disappeared from Suffolk. Carlton Marshes is the last place where you can hope to see the butterfly.

Meet: SWT Carlton Marshes car park Grid Ref: TM508920 Post Code: NR33 8HU Time: 10.30am Leaders: Peter Maddison and Robert Quadling Contact: Peter Maddison Email: prmaddison@yahoo.co.uk 01473 736607

Saturday 16th November Butterfly Conservation National Annual General Meeting

Saturday 30th November Suffolk Branch A.G.M & Members Event Peter Eeles will be the guest speaker. Peter runs the UK Butterflies website (www.ukbutterflies.co.uk). In 2016 he was presented with the Marsh Award for the Promotion of Lepidoptera Conservation at Butterfly Conservation’s AGM. He is writing “Lifecycles of British and Irish Butterflies” to be published in October 2019.

Venue: Stowupland Village Hall Grid Ref: TM 070600, Post Code: IP14 4BG Time: 2.30 pm. Please note the change in location and the afternoon start. The AGM will be followed by the guest speaker, members’ slides, light refreshments and the annual photo competition. Further details will be announced in The Suffolk Argus and on the Branch website.

Important information

As with any other activity, there are hazards in the countryside and everyone taking part in an event has a responsibility (duty of care) for their own safety and that of others. We try hard to ensure that our events present no greater hazard than any other walk in the countryside, but we would encourage anyone planning to attend an event to read and act on the following advice:

• Wear appropriate footwear. If there are unusual requirements these will be noted in the event programme, but stout shoes are a minimum requirement for any walk.

• The leader will brief you on the trip before setting off, with details of any known hazards and advice on what to do in an emergency – please listen carefully.

• By their nature, butterflies are not always to be found next to the path and will offer many opportunities (temptations) to wander off the track. It’s easy to be distracted and to miss potential hazards such as rabbit holes, fallen or hanging branches, barbed wire etc. Beware of wet grass or moss, particularly on sloping ground. Children are welcome at branch events but, if under 16, they must be accompanied by a responsible adult (maximum of two children per adult). If you are bringing children with you, please ensure that the event is within their capability.

• Dogs may be allowed at some of the events. Please contact the leader in advance to find out if the event is suitable.

• If you are uncertain about any aspect of an event or activity, please contact the leader in advance.

Contact details can be found with each event entry. Do let the leader know if you need, or can offer, a lift. If you decide to leave early, please tell the event leader. Please note that persons who take part in these events do so entirely at their own risk and The Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation cannot accept liability for any injuries or losses during the course of an event. Binoculars, cameras, field guides and notebooks are always useful. For moth nights bring a torch and eye protection (i.e. polarised sunglasses or widebrimmed hat). Remember, most nature reserves do not permit dogs. Map references are based on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series and are approximate. They refer to the rendezvous, not the site. Anyone is welcome to come along, Branch members or not.

Ask Iris

Vanessa asked: ‘Why are moths attracted to light if they are nocturnal?’ Iris replied: Moths’ attraction to light (positive phototaxis) could be related to certain light wavelengths giving confusing pheromone signals. However, that would infer that only male moths would be attracted to light, as this is not the case, maybe females don’t like the competition for mating? Of course, moths are caught outside of their mating period meaning that this theory is, on its own, could be unfounded.

Moths circling a light source such as a moth trap can often be seen flying erratically and bumbling frantically as if blinded by the light. This behavior could be some in-built reaction to their belief that ‘it is night, so what’s that light’ or, as some believe, it is related to celestial navigation. Not sure that moths navigate far though, take the vapourer moth for example: flightless females and you won’t find a male in your trap as the vapourer is known to be attracted by pheromones rather than light. So, Vanessa I am sorry, there is no positive explanation. Camilla asked: ‘How can I save on expensive postage?’ Iris replied: Instead of wasting your hard-earnt cash on first class postage, send your letters second class a day earlier.

If you have a question for Iris, serious or humorous, please email ‘ask Iris’ c/o the editor: trevor@ greenfarm.org.uk

All a flutter.

(Broadleaf magazine south east issue), by Rohan Amick (edited by Trevor Goodfellow)

Twenty years as a radio officer in the merchant navy couldn’t dampen my passion for butterflies, I have loved them since I was a boy. My favourite haunt is Worms Wood near Bangor. There are plenty of nectar-bearing plants there, so it is ideal for butterflies. It attracts a lot of the brown species like ringlet and the brown argus, peacock and common blue. I started doing surveys about four years ago, making charts listing the 21 species I found there. This year I saw 30 – 40 marbled whites in one survey! And October sightings of red admiral and speckled wood. People ask me how I can be sure I don’t count the same one twice, and the truth is, I can’t, but at the same time you can’t hope to count them all, so it evens out. You must know your species and have a quick keen eye, walk slowly to count them all, patience is the key; you can’t rush it.

Butterfly of The Year?

Richard Stewart

Although the Holly blue was abundant, particularly in the first half of the year, my own vote goes to the Brown Argus, also the favourite of Patrick Barkham, as revealed in his AGM talk. In past years I have sometimes had to wait some time to find one-in 2015 it was 17th July. However, in 2018 I had records from sixteen different locations, thirteen being in Suffolk from the King’s Forest in the west, to Orford and Thorpeness on the eastern coast. One turned up in our Ipswich gardenonly the second record- and I found a single Brown Argus in the meadow at The Dales, also in Ipswich. This was a new site record. A colony of eight was found on a visit to Rainham Marshes but probably the greatest number was on Denbies, North Downs, near Dorking. I was there with my wife Marie and Stella and Roger Wolfe, but we didn’t count every Brown Argus, concentrating more on finding rarer Adonis Blue and Silver-spotted Skipper. Besides the overall patterning and colour this species has a particularly silver effect in flight. However, I also like to check against the possibility of it being a female Common Blue by making sure there are no spot markings on the forewing nearer than halfway into the body. Formerly this often necessitated getting down on my knees but that is seldom necessary now, thanks to close focus binoculars.

Small Tortoiseshell by Deborah Vass

An Invitation to Watch Butterflies.

Rob Parker

A comfortable stay on Suffolk’s coast is an opportunity to watch butterflies, some special, some numerous, and all guaranteed to enhance the timeless quality of your outdoor life. The Sandlings has heaths that host rarities like the Silver-studded Blue, forests that feature the graceful flight of the White Admiral, and coastal walks with wildflowers that sparkle with butterflies enjoying the sun. You can just relax and let them cross your path from time to time, but if you want to be sure to find something interesting, here are a few ideas.

If you choose to tackle the “Sailors’ Path” from Snape towards Aldeburgh you will cross a variety of different habitats, and a summer walk along its sandy paths will let you see Graylings, Small Coppers, Meadow Browns, Common Blues, and possibly even a Wall Brown or two – a once familiar butterfly in sad decline across much of England. The familiar Peacocks, Small Totroiseshells and Commas will be there too of course – most of your way along the path. If you have time for a detour, why not step into the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Hazlewood Marshes? You will find parts of it sheltered, with a more open aspect as you approach the bird hide and the marshland along the Alde estuary. The Sailors path is just under 3 miles between the small car park at the RSPB’s Snape Warren and the little car park off the A1094 about a mile before the edge of Aldeburgh. That car park is the assembly point for a field meeting onSaturday 18th May – See the events programme. You can plan the out and back walk for a whole day, with a lunch break at Aldeburgh, but if that is too strenuous, why not take a shorter stretch from either end?

If you want to find one of Suffolk’s rarities – the Silver-studded Blue, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) species, it can be found by visiting Westleton in late June or July. There are 2 pubs in the village, and the butterfly flies on Westleton Common, which is accessible to the public and only 500 yards south of the village centre. The colonies are spread around the heathery dells in the common, and you will need to walk slowly and look carefully to find them, but once you are in the right place, it can be a delight to watch a rare butterfly thriving and tumbling about in good numbers. If you are going on to Dunwich, you might like to know that there are other colonies scattered either side of the road as you pass through the Westleton Heath National Nature Reserve.

Stopping at the Natural England car park at the corner of the Dunwich Forest is a good plan too. Not only is there a good chance of seeing Silver-studded Blues or Graylings close to the car park, but a walk in the forest can bring you a glimpse of a White Admiral gliding along one of the rides.

Other good woodlands for White Admiral can be found in the Tunstall Forest or the Rendlesham Forest. Both are excellent places to stretch your legs and have good